Stand for clamping post/rod-shaped items with electrical fill level display device

ABSTRACT

A stand for clamping post/rod-shaped items, comprising a housing, at least two holding elements adjoining a receiving space for receiving the pole- or rod-shaped part, a securing device, and a flexible force transmission device, wherein the holding elements are arranged so as to be angularly offset around a central axis of the receiving space and pivotable about a respective pivot axis away from the central axis in the direction of a release position and toward the central axis in the direction of a fixing position, wherein the force transmission device leads from the securing device to the holding elements, which are movably coupled with the securing device by the force transmission device, and wherein the force transmission device is pulled and/or loaded with force in a pulling direction to the securing device as a result of the movement of the securing device from a disengaged position toward an engaged position, so that the securing device counteracts or prevents a pivoting of the holding elements toward the release position by the force transmission device, wherein the stand has a fill level sensor for determining a liquid fill level in the receiving space that protrudes into the receiving space of the housing, the fill level sensor being electrically connected to an electrical display device that is arranged on an outer side of the housing, so that fill level information that can be displayed by the display device correlates with a liquid fill level determined by the fill level sensor.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a stand for post/rod-shaped items.

BACKGROUND

A Christmas tree stand of this generic type is described in DE 10 2013009 486 B3. The stand described in DE 10 2013 009 486 B3 has a waterlevel indicator comprising a buoyant body that is arranged in a guidechannel, the guide channel protruding into a receiving space of thestand housing and being fluidly connected thereto. If there is little orno water in the housing of the Christmas tree stand, the buoyant bodyexperiences no or only a small amount of buoyancy force, so that anupper side of the buoyant body extends flush with an outer surface ofthe housing. By filling water into the receiving space of the housing,the guide channel is also filled with water, so that the buoyant bodyexperiences a buoyancy force that lifts the buoyant body and causes thetop of the buoyant body to protrude from the outer surface of thehousing. When the buoyant body protrudes from the outer surface of thehousing, there is sufficient water in the receiving space of the housingof the stand to supply to a Christmas tree that is being held by thestand.

The water level indicator of the Christmas tree stand that is known fromDE 10 2013 009 486 B3 has various drawbacks. For one, the water levelindicator is not necessarily visible, since it can be hidden by a branchof the tree that is being held by the stand, for example. Furthermore,only a slight protrusion of the buoyant body from the outer surface ofthe housing is difficult to see, resulting in it being filled with waterby a user of the Christmas tree stand even though the Christmas treethat is being held by the stand already has enough water. Furthermore,the water level indicator of the Christmas tree stand that is known fromDE 10 2013 009 486 B3 has the disadvantage that the buoyant body cantilt in the guide channel, resulting in the user continuing to fillwater into the Christmas tree stand despite the water level within thereceiving space of the stand already being sufficient, which can causewater to overflow from the Christmas tree stand.

SUMMARY

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved standfor clamping post/rod-shaped items that does not have the drawbacksdescribed above.

More specifically, the object on which the present invention is based isachieved by a stand for clamping post/rod-shaped items, particularlyChristmas trees, the stand comprising a housing, at least two holdingelements adjoining a receiving space for receiving the pole- orrod-shaped part, a securing device, and a flexible force transmissiondevice. The holding elements are arranged so as to be angularly offsetaround a central axis of the receiving space and pivotable about arespective pivot axis away from the central axis in the direction of arelease position and toward the central axis in the direction of afixing position. The force transmission device leads from the securingdevice to the holding elements, which are movably coupled by means ofthe force transmission device with the securing device, the forcetransmission device being pulled and/or loaded with force in a pullingdirection to the securing device as a result of the movement of thesecuring device from a disengaged position toward an engaged position,so that the securing device counteracts or prevents a pivoting of theholding elements toward the release position by means of the forcetransmission device. The stand according to the invention is wherein thestand has a fill level sensor for determining a liquid level in thereceiving space that protrudes into the receiving space of the housing,the fill level sensor being electrically connected to an electricaldisplay device that is arranged on an outer side of the housing, so thatfill level information that can be displayed by means of the displaydevice correlates with a liquid fill level determined by the fill levelsensor.

The stand according to the invention has improved reliability indetermining the fill level of its receiving space. Moreover, the standaccording to the invention has improved accuracy in determining thewater fill level. Also, the stand according to the invention offersimproved visibility of the fill level of the stand, more particularly ofits receiving space.

More preferably, the fill level sensor is embodied as a capacitive filllevel sensor or as a conductive fill level sensor or as an ultrasonicfill level sensor. There are no restrictions with regard to the designof the fill level sensor, as long as fill level information determinedby the fill level sensor can be transmitted electrically to the displaydevice.

Preferably, the level sensor is data-coupled with the electrical displaydevice.

More preferably, the pivot axes about which the holding elements can bepivoted between their release position and fixing position are embodiedas horizontal pivot axes or pivot axes with a horizontal component tothe central axis.

For example, the securing device can comprise a carriage that is guidedin the base plate and is closer to the central axis of the stand in theengaged position than in its disengaged position. The force transmissiondevice is thus pulled in the direction of the carriage when the carriageis moved from the disengaged position to the engaged position.

Instead of the carriage, however, a biased roll for rolling the forcetransmission device up and down can also be provided, for example. Thesecuring device can thus be embodied as a tensioning ratchet. Thesecuring device can also be denoted as a tensioning device for clampingthe force transmission device. There are no restrictions on the designof the securing device according to the invention.

The force transmission device leads to all holding elements. Dependingon the design, the force transmission device may, for example, compriseonly one guy which, starting from the securing device, leads to all ofthe holding elements. In an embodiment of the force transmission devicewith two guys, one guy leads to one half of the holding elements, whilethe other guy leads to the other half of the holding elements. However,it is also conceivable for the force transmission device to have anumber of holding elements corresponding to the number of forcetransmission elements, for example in the form of guys, in which caseeach guy leads to only a single holding element.

Preferably, the stand is designed such that the display device isembodied as a luminous display device and emits visible light.

The correspondingly designed stand has the advantage that the visibilityof the fill level of the stand, more particularly of the receiving spaceof the stand, is improved even further, since the fill level informationis easily visible to a user of the stand even in dark conditions.

Visible light is light with a wavelength in the wavelength range from400 nm to 700 nm.

More preferably, the stand is designed such that the luminous displaydevice has a plurality of luminous elements.

Further preferably, the stand is designed such that the respectiveluminous elements are embodied as light-emitting diodes.

The fill level sensor and the display device of the correspondinglyembodied stand can be operated for a long period of time with a batterythat is arranged in the housing of the stand, since light-emittingdiodes have a lower energy consumption compared to other luminouselements (such as incandescent lamps).

More preferably, the stand is designed such that the luminous displaydevice has a first number of first luminous elements for emitting lightin a first wavelength range and a second number of second luminouselements for emitting light in a second wavelength range.

With the correspondingly designed stand, the information as to whetherthere is enough water in the receiving space is once again more easilyvisible. After all, the second luminous elements are only active andemit light when the level in the receiving space is below apredetermined desired fill level.

More preferably, the design of the stand is such that the luminousdisplay device is embodied such that at least one first luminous elementemits light when the liquid fill level in the receiving space is above apredetermined minimum level.

More preferably, the design of the stand is such that the luminousdisplay device is embodied such that at least one second luminouselement emits light when the liquid fill level in the receiving space isbelow a predetermined minimum level.

More preferably, the stand is designed such that the first wavelengthrange is between 490 nm and 560 nm and the second wavelength is rangebetween 630 nm and 700 nm.

Light in the first wavelength range is perceived by humans as a greenlight and light in the second wavelength range is perceived by humans asa red light.

With the correspondingly designed stand, the information as to whetherthere is enough water in the receiving space is once again more easilyvisible, since red light can be distinguished very well from greenlight.

More preferably, the stand is designed such that the luminous displaydevice is embedded in a recess of the housing.

More preferably, the stand is embodied such that it has a cover forcovering the recess.

More preferably, the stand is embodied such that it has a transmittingdevice for wirelessly transmitting fill level information.

Through appropriate configuration, fill level information can betransmitted to an external display device, particularly to a mobileterminal (e.g., a mobile phone).

The object on which the present invention is based, is also achieved bya stand system with a stand and a terminal, the terminal being designedto receive and display the fill level information transmitted by thetransmitter of the stand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages, details, and features of the invention will becomeapparent from the illustrated exemplary embodiments. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a spatial representation of the stand according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional representation of the stand shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a detailed representation of the stand shown in FIG. 1 inthe vicinity of its display device;

FIG. 4 shows the stand shown in FIG. 3 without a battery compartmentcover;

FIG. 5 shows the stand shown in FIG. 4 without a display device cover;

FIG. 6 shows the stand shown in FIG. 5 along a sectional plane thatextends along a longitudinal axis of the display device;

FIG. 7 shows the stand shown in FIG. 5 along a sectional plane thatextends transverse to the longitudinal axis of the display device;

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional representation of the stand shown in FIG.1; and

FIG. 9 shows a detailed view of a fill level sensor and a display deviceof the stand according to the invention connected thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, like reference numerals designate likecomponents and like features, so that a description that is provided forone figure with respect to a component also applies to the otherfigures, so that repetitive description is avoided.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic spatial representation of a stand according tothe invention.

The stand 1 according to the invention, which can also be termed aChristmas tree stand 1, comprises a housing 10, which, in turn,comprises a housing base 11 or a base plate 11 and a housing cover 12.The housing cover 12 is connected in a fluid-tight manner to the baseplate 11, so that the housing 10 is suitable for receiving water,enabling a Christmas tree that is to be held by the stand 1 to besupplied with water. To control the water level within the housing 1, awater level indicator 70 having a buoyant body is provided in thehousing cover 12.

The housing cover 12 has a central opening 13. As can already be seenfrom FIGS. 1 and 2 as well, the stand 1 has holding elements 20 thatprotrude upward out of the housing cover 12 through the central opening13. The holding elements 20 are arranged so as to be angularly offsetaround a central axis 19′ and pivotable about a respective horizontalpivot axis, so that the holding elements 20 can be pivoted away from thecentral axis 19′ in the direction of a release position and toward thecentral axis 19′ in the direction of a fixing position shown in FIG. 1.

The stand 1 further comprises a securing device 30, which can also bereferred to as a clamping device 30. The securing device 30 has asecuring lever 31 or a tension lever 31 by means of which a tensionroller (not visible in the figures) can be actuated. In the exemplaryembodiment that is illustrated, the securing device 30 is embodied as atensioning ratchet 30 known to those skilled in the art.

Furthermore, the stand 1 has a force transmission device 40, which, inthe illustrated exemplary embodiment, is embodied as a guy 40.

As already described above, the holding elements 20 are arranged so asto be angularly offset around a central axis 19′ of the receiving spaceand pivotable about a respective pivot axis away from the central axis19′ in the direction of the release position and toward the central axis19′ in the direction of the fixing position. The guy 40 leads from thesecuring device 30 to the respective holding elements 20, which, inturn, are movably coupled with the securing device 30 by means of theguy 40. For this purpose, the respective holding elements 20 havepassage openings 21 through which the guy 40 is passed.

When the securing device 30 is moved from a disengaged position in thedirection of an engaged position—which takes place in the illustratedexemplary embodiment by pump-like actuation of the tension lever 31—theguy 40 is pulled in a pulling direction toward the securing device 30,so that the securing device 30, by means of the guy 40, counteracts apivoting of the holding elements 20 in the direction of a releaseposition.

It can be seen particularly from FIGS. 7 and 8 that the stand 1 has afill level sensor 50 protruding into the receiving space 19 of thehousing 10 for determining a liquid fill level in the receiving space19. The fill level sensor 50 can be embodied as a capacitive fill levelsensor 50. Furthermore, it is also possible for the fill level sensor 50to be embodied as a conductive fill level sensor 50 or as an ultrasonicfill level sensor 50. There are no restrictions on the design of thelevel sensor 50.

The stand 1 according to the invention also has an electrical displaydevice 60. The fill level sensor 50 is electrically connected to theelectrical display device 60 arranged on an outer side of the housing10, so that fill level information displayed by means of the displaydevice 60 correlates with a liquid fill level detected by the fill levelsensor 50. Consequently, the display device 60 is data-coupled with thefill level sensor 50, so that fill level information determined by meansof the fill level sensor 50 can be transmitted to the display device 60.

The display device 60 is embodied as a luminous display device 60 andhas a plurality of luminous elements 61, 62, 63 that are arranged on acircuit board of the luminous display device 60. The luminous elements61, 62, 63 are embodied as light-emitting diodes 61, 62, 63, firstluminous elements 61 being configured to emit light in a firstwavelength range between 490 nm and 560 nm, and second light-emittingelements 62 being configured to emit light in a second wavelength rangebetween 630 nm and 700 nm. Consequently, the first light-emitting diodes61 emit green light, while the second light-emitting diodes 62 emit redlight.

The display device 60 is embodied such that when the housing 10 iscompletely filled with water, all of the luminous elements—i.e., boththe first luminous elements 61 and the second luminous elements 62—emitlight. When the fill level of the housing 10 decreases, individual firstluminous elements 61 will no longer emit light. As soon as the filllevel within the housing 10 has reached a lower threshold fill level,only the second lighting elements 62, which emit red-colored light inthe illustrated exemplary embodiment, light up. It is thus easy for theuser to see that the fill level within the housing 10 is no longersufficient, so that the stand 1 can be filled with new water.

It can be seen particularly from FIGS. 5 to 8 that the illuminateddisplay device 60 is embedded or recessed in a recess 14 or a depression14 of the housing 10. In order to cover the luminous display device 60and close the recess 14, a cover 15 is provided in which luminousopenings 15 a are arranged through which the light emitted by thelight-emitting diodes 61, 62, 63 can be transmitted to the outside ofthe stand 1.

It can also be seen from FIGS. 3 to 6 that a battery well is arranged inthe recess 14, in which two batteries 80 are arranged in the illustratedexemplary embodiment. An additional cover 17 for sealing the batterywell is provided.

FIG. 9 shows the luminous display device 60 with the firstlight-emitting diodes 61 and the second light-emitting diodes 62together with the fill level sensor 50. It can be seen that the filllevel sensor 50 is perpendicular to the luminous display device 60, morespecifically to a circuit board of the luminous display device 60.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

-   1 stand-   10 housing-   11 base plates (of the housing)-   12 housing cover-   13 opening-   14 recess/depression of the housing-   15 cover/lid (for covering the recess)-   15 a illuminated opening-   16 battery compartment-   17 cover/lid (for covering the battery compartment)-   18 central spike-   19 receiving space-   19′ central axis (of the receiving space)-   20 retaining element-   21 passage opening (of the holding element)-   22 securing device/clamping device-   30 safety latch/tensioning lever-   40 force transmission device, traction device, safety cord, guy-   50 fill level sensor-   60 display device/luminous display device-   61 first luminous element-   62 second luminous element-   63 luminous element/light-emitting diode-   70 water level indicator/buoyant body-   80 battery

What is claimed is:
 1. A stand for clamping post/rod-shaped items, particularly Christmas trees, comprising a housing, at least two holding elements adjoining a receiving space for receiving the post/rod-shaped items, a securing device, and a flexible force transmission device, the stand comprising the following features: the holding elements are arranged so as to be angularly offset around a central axis of the receiving space and pivotable about a respective pivot axis away from the central axis in the direction of a release position and toward the central axis in the direction of a fixing position; the force transmission device leads from the securing device to the holding elements, which are movably coupled with the securing device by the force transmission device; the force transmission device being pulled and/or loaded with force in a pulling direction to the securing device as a result of the movement of the securing device from a disengaged position toward an engaged position, so that the securing device counteracts or prevents a pivoting of the holding elements toward the release position by the force transmission device, comprising the following features: the stand has a fill level sensor for determining a liquid fill level in the receiving space that protrudes into the receiving space of the housing; and the fill level sensor being electrically connected to an electrical display device that is arranged on an outer side of the housing, so that fill level information that can be displayed by the display device correlates with a liquid fill level determined by the fill level sensor.
 2. The stand as set forth in claim 1, wherein the display device is embodied as a luminous display device and configured to emit visible light.
 3. The stand as set forth in claim 1, wherein the luminous display device has a plurality of luminous elements.
 4. The stand as set forth in claim 1, wherein the respective lighting elements are embodied as light-emitting diodes.
 5. The stand as set forth in claim 3, wherein: the luminous display device has a first number of first luminous elements for emitting light in a first wavelength range; and the luminous display device has a second number of second luminous elements for emitting light in a second wavelength range.
 6. The stand as set forth in claim 5, wherein the luminous display device is embodied such that at least one first luminous element emits light when the liquid fill level in the receiving space is above a predetermined minimum level.
 7. The stand as set forth in claim 5, wherein the luminous display device is embodied such that at least one second luminous element emits light when the liquid fill level in the receiving space is below a predetermined minimum level.
 8. The stand as set forth in claim 5, wherein the first wavelength range is between 490 nm and 560 nm and the second wavelength is range between 630 nm and 700 nm.
 9. The stand as set forth in claim 1, wherein the luminous display device is embedded in a recess of the housing.
 10. The stand as set forth in claim 9, wherein the stand has a cover for covering the recess.
 11. The stand as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stand has a transmitting device for wirelessly transmitting fill level information.
 12. A stand system with a stand as set forth in claim 11 and a terminal device that is designed to receive and display the fill level information transmitted by the transmitting device of the stand. 